We Were, Once
by SugarLandBabyGirl
Summary: They were teammates and almost friends, once. After so long of a time passes, can things ever go back to the way they were before, or is one chance your only?
1. Chapter 1: Start Of Another New Year

_**Disclaimer: **I do not in any way, shape, or form own Eyeshield 21._

Chapter One:

Start Of Another New Year

'_Hm, seems like I'll be late for class this year. Just like last year and the year before… Oh well, it's not like they even care. Just as long as all of my homework and projects are done and turned in on time, they couldn't care less. After all I am just some "American Punk" who was sent here so that the American Government wouldn't have to pay for my schooling. Eh, who cares anyway, by this time next year I won't be anyone's problem and I won't have to check in my whereabouts to the orphanage anymore. Next year, I'm free…' _With that last train of thought, an evilly pleased grin made its way onto pale lips, before it quieted down into a small smirk a few seconds later.

Least to say, the seventeen-year-old high school student was a little more than pleased that she wouldn't have to deal with her "babysitters" on her next birthday; it would probably be the first time she ever celebrated the day of her birth, since she was born. A bored quiet sigh lazily made its way past pale peach lips, as the five foot six teen made her way towards Deimon Private Senior High School or as the tardy teen called it, "Demon Hell High".

'_Time for some noise…' _The girl thought to herself before she reached into her right back pocket and pulled out a black iPod and lazily placed her matching headphones into her ears, before scrolling down the list of her music, until she finally stopped at one song and smirked when she found what she was looking for; she immediately turned the volume up to its maximum height and didn't even blink when the thunderous music and lyrics entered her eardrums. It was a great surprise that the teen wasn't deaf at such a young age, as her music could clearly be heard several feet away; most passerbies gave the teen some very strange looks, before they shrugged her "abnormality" off and continued on with whatever they were previously doing.

The deafening music wasn't the only "abnormal" thing about the teen girl that the passerby's scrutinized about her appearance. For one, the young girl wasn't dressed in the girl's uniform for her school's requirements; instead she was wearing the boys, minus the tie which was wrapped around her right wrist. The second could have been her ear piercings, instead of wearing studs or dangle earrings, she instead wore a pair of black and red cut horn plugs one in each ear. The third might have been her choice of hair style which was more than likely considered odd, but she didn't care what anyone thought, it was her body and she could do anything to it and it would be no ones business but her own. Her hair color was a normal shade of dirty blonde, but her hair style was just slightly out of the ordinary, as it was short and spiky, but it wasn't cut to look like a guy's hair style; her cheek length bangs curved down to cover her right eye, while the back was cut so that it fell just a few inched behind her ears and the crown was spiked up with some help from a black clip; her hair also held a few black streaks in it but all of them were from dye and were unnatural.

In the young teen's mind, nothing was wrong with her hair, ear piercings or her dress style, but she supposed that everyone took her as a member of the male gender at first glance. But even though she was in no way possible arrogant about her appearance, even she knew that she didn't look that much like a guy, besides her B cup breasts should have given her true gender away immediately. Even though she cursed her body parts more often then not, she knew that anyone with eyes should have enough commonsense to notice that she had a pair of knockers, even when she was wearing men's clothing.

As the blonde haired teen made her way towards Deimon High, she spotted a familiar spiky brunette haired boy. She hadn't catch his name yet, but she wasn't worried she'd find out his name soon enough, the boy was undoubtedly going to be someone's gofer, so she'd probably end up either rescuing him if she felt like it, or stealing him from someone to be her gofer, but the latter probably wasn't going to happen, the spiky haired teen didn't have any use for a gofer.

'_So, the pipsqueak actually made it huh.' _With a soft chuckle and a small smirk, the late teen clearly remembered running into the small boy, only just yesterday.

As the sluggish and bored teen walked closer to her school, she noticed that there was a fairly large crowd gathered around a tall board with numbers on it. It was the chart that held the new students Id numbers. The young teen wondered how many of the newbie's were going to last before the school's residential "demon" got a hold of them and scared them off. Just the though of Deimon's "demon" caused a short, soft laugh that sounded more like a scoff to come from her throat, before a smirk made its way back onto her peach tinted lips.

With a shake of her head she semi-rudely pushed her way past an extremely short spiky brown haired boy, who was lurking cautiously near the entrance and exit of Deimon High. The young boy was undoubtedly a newbie and a coward, as he nearly jumped out of his skin when the tall teen girl brushed past him and catching his deep, innocent golden eyes in her smirking cool gaze for a fraction of a second, before she disappeared into the crowd, leaving the young flighty boy curious and slight scared.

'_Heh, he's gonna end up being someone's gofer. He's too innocent and kind and too scared to last on his own.' _The smirking teen thought to herself with a light laugh, knowing that if the boy made it into Deimon High he was going to have several hellish years ahead of him. This school was anything but kind and one person in particular made it even more like Hell than even the devil himself could.

'_Who was that girl? Why did she look at me like that…' _The flighty young teenage boy thought to himself, he was slightly curious as to whom the tall teenage girl was and he was even more curious as to why she was wearing men's cloths. Although the young boy had to admit that the girl probably wouldn't look right in a skirt or a dress, it seemed like the men's clothing fit her personality more than the girl's would. The mysterious girl's eyes struck him more than her appearance did; he could clearly picture every detail about her visible eye, from the deep dark Aqua color that made up most of her iris, to the tiny splashes of light blue that centered around her pupil and even the slight hint of grey-blue that was splattered like paint all throughout her iris.

Before the young boy could think too long on the mysterious teen girl that had pushed past him, he was suddenly shot out of his thoughts by a feminine voice calling his name. When the young boy looked around for the owner of the familiar voice, he saw a very familiar strawberry haired girl. It was his one of his best childhood friends, Anezaki Mamori or as he affectionately called her Mamori-neechan.

'_Ah, just another day in Hell High.' _The tall, spiky haired girl thought to herself with a bored frown, _'It'll be worth it, next year.' _She concluded before stepping through the threshold and into the school building, knowing full well that she'd earn her first, but certainly not last tardy slip for the year.


	2. Chapter 2: The Kid with Lightning Legs

Chapter Two:

The Kid with Lightning Legs

'_God, could this class get anymore boring! I swear this teacher could put a raging bull to sleep just by opening her mouth.' _The tardy and lazy blonde haired girl growled mentally, while obnoxiously yawning, despite the teachers' irate gaze.

The teacher was not pleased to see the tall blonde haired girl leaning backwards in her chair with the front two legs off the ground, having her feet carelessly and inappropriately propped on her desk. The young teenage girl looked down right bored, sitting all of the way in the back of the first row to the right. Her desk was right beside the window and the lazy teen seemed to be more interested in sleeping, listening to her iPod or looking out the window, while the woman Teacher was trying to educate the students who actually wanted to learn.

Finally having enough of the blonde girls' rudeness, the teacher spoke, hiding her anger behind a faux smile, "Excuse me Miss Keelin, but would you be so kind as to join us here in class and daydream on your own time." It was a statement, not a question but the teachers' obviously fake smile and sickeningly sweet tone didn't fade.

"Actually Mrs. Sanami, I wouldn't like to join your little discussion. So do please carry on, without me." The tone was polite but held a mocking and bored undertone, which only served to anger the Teacher even more and cause her artificial smile to falter then drop completely from her face, causing a satisfyingly wicked and sly smirk to appear on the teens' pale lips.

The entire class had fallen silent, when the spiky haired teen girl had started speaking. The American girl spoke fluent Japanese and English and she was undoubtedly smart, making some of the highest grades in their whole school, but she wasn't someone any of the other students wanted to interact with, unless it was necessary. She was a known associate of the schools' residential "_demon_" Hiruma Yoichi and that was cause enough for everyone to fear her, the same way as they feared him.

Just as the Teacher went to open her mouth to say something to the smirking blonde, the bell rang and before the open mouthed woman could say anything, the American rebel teen had already left the classroom, her hands stuffed lazily in her pants pockets and her always present black iPod headphones already blasting loud music into her eardrums. Slowly the rest of the class departed, after they were sure that the blonde teen girl was gone.

'_Hmm, guess I'll go see what they got for food at the market. Got to have something to eat, for supper and breakfast tomorrow.' _Keelin thought to herself, as she lazily walked away from the High School from Hell. The tall blonde haired girl lived by herself in a small apartment, thanks to her decently paying job. If it wasn't for her job, she knew that she would still be living at the orphanage; it was bad enough that she had to return every other day and let them know that she hadn't ran off or died. Not that they would care, they were only interested in the money that her presence at their orphanage brought them.

'_Jeez people, it isn't like the word is coming to an end!' _Keelin growled mentally, as she pushed her way through the crowded streets. Some festival, she wasn't interested in was going on and it only served to aggravate her as yet another person ran into her shoulder. Pain was something she could deal with, easily but being pushed around wasn't her forte and she didn't have enough patience today to be generous and take it, so whoever the next unlucky person was to bump into her was going to be hurting for several days.

"Alright, that's it!" The now very irate blonde growled, when an over excited guy bumped into her. Instantly she reached out and harshly grabbed the unfortunate guy by the collar of his shirt and went to shove him down to the ground to prove her point and vent her frustration, but suddenly out of the corner of her right eye she saw a familiar spiky brunette haired boy with soft wide brown eyes running straight towards her and the now scared guy. Just as suddenly as she saw him, a swift gust of air rushed by her along with the flashing color of the familiar light green jacket.

"Damn, that kid's fast." She muttered lightly, her trained gaze following his every move; nothing he did was unseen. No matter how fast the kid was, she saw it all and instantly recognized raw potential in him. The kid would be an excellent Running Back on a Football Team; she concluded with a small smirk as she followed the kid and his three pursuers, the scared guy who had bumped into her was instantly forgotten along with her anger.

In no time flat, Keelin was watching the kid try and catch the Tram, before his pursuers caught him. The kid had damn good potential despite his lack in height, but that would only be a plus for the kid in a game, as most of the players would be much taller and slower. So far the kid had easily passed all of the people in the crowded street without touching a single one and an awesome spin that made Keelin wonder if the kid had actually played Football before or if it was just natural untouched talent. The kid was starting to tire and a look of worry came to his face, when he saw that the Train was going to leave at any minute now.

Was he going to make it? She wondered, her cool, calculating aqua gaze never once leaving the running boy. It was a fifty-fifty chance of him making it in time, but he would have to pull off a damn good jump or he was toast. The three guys that were chasing him looked like they would literally kill the kid when and if they caught him.

"Nope! With your legs, you can do it!" A sudden and very familiar voice spoke out, just to Keelins' right. Just by the tone that the male was using, she knew that he was smirking and impressed by the show of talent that the boy was presenting to the crowd. Despite the familiarity of the voice, Keelins' gaze didn't waver for a nanosecond; the boy's talent was more important and interesting that the eccentric blonde that was perched on the fence above her.

"Jump!" Two voices yelled out in unison, as the brunette haired boy ran down a flight of stairs. He was almost there and it seemed like he either heard them or he just took a leap of faith, because he jumped… and with a dive that would make any prize Running Back jealous, he made it. Just before the three guys who were chasing him began to run down the stairs, only for the last one, who was strangely carrying a bat in his hand, made a miss step and fell forwards knocking into his two friends, making them loose their footing and roll down the concrete stairs, rather ungracefully and landed in a jumbled heap at the bottom, just as the train pulled away from the station.

'_Heh, that's going to leave a bruise, those idiots.' _Keelin thought to herself with a soft chuckle and a satisfied smirk. The three idiots got what they rightly deserved, in her opinion and the kid; well he was already in trouble. He might be able to out run those three punks, but there was no way he would get away from the blonde male teen perched on the fence above, who had seen it all. Deimon Private High School's very own "_demon"_, Hiruma Yoichi had spotted his talent and there was nothing the kid could do to escape his clutches now.

"Well kid, good luck 'cause when he finds you, you're going to be in for a world of Hell." Keelin muttered with a slight sympathetic tone, for the unknowing boy, before she lazily shoved her hands back into her pockets and walked back to the direction of the market, she still hadn't bought the groceries she needed.

A small bitter yet happy smile crossed the lazy teen's lips when she heard a familiar blonde males' voice yell out from behind her, using his signature phrase, "Touchdown! Ya-ha!"

The last thought that crossed her mind, before she disappeared into the crowed was, _'Good luck, Deimon Devil Bat's.'_


	3. Chapter 3: A Meeting With The “Demon”

Chapter Three:

A Meeting With The "Demon"

"Keelin!" An obviously very irate voice yelled, as the called teenager walked lazily through the garage building. Unheeding and unhearing of the warning tone of her usually cranky boss. Her iPod earphones were cranked up as high as they would go so she wouldn't have to listen to her boorish boss's complaints about her five minute tardiness.

The blonde haired teen had acquired a job as a mechanic around two years ago and although she was more than thrilled with the paycheck, she didn't quite understand why her boss always yelled at her, when half of the workers came in two to three hours later than she. If Keelin were to bet money on it, she'd say that her boss was a sexist; seeing as how she was the only female to ever get a job at his shop and she was the only one to ever get her ass chewed out about the smallest things. Her job-no her boss was such a pain, yet she'd gladly deal with her asshole of a boss before Hiruma Yoichi. Now _that_ was a man that could cause a migraine that wouldn't go away.

"Good Evening, Keelin. Glad to see that you made it today. I thought that you weren't going to come. It's not like you to be late, usually." A grease covered blonde haired man teased, as the tall teen girl slipped on her "_business suite_" and placed her iPod in her shoulder bag for safe keeping, before she walked over to the lockers and placed all of her belongings in her rusted and dented locker.

"So, what kept you from coming to your ball princess?" Another voice called out in a friendly teasing manner, as he lazily leaned against an expensive looking car, his dark brown eyes sparkled with mischief. The man also had a few grease stains specked across his tanned face. The car was a deep midnight blue with shimmering chrome wheels and from what Keelin could tell the car was probably a street racer from all of the fixings it had on it. The man that was leaning against the car was actually the owner of the fine street car.

"This _princess_ of grease had a broken carriage, why didn't you come and fix it for her Jotaro, Haruo?" Keelin teased back with a small smile when the young man that was leaning against the car fell over laughing at her "princess of grease" comment, the other younger man also doubled over laughing at her remark before the three coworkers and friends seated themselves on the racecar's hood.

Jotaro and Haruo Izuho were first cousins that lived five blocks down from Keelin's apartment. She had swiftly become friends with the two knuckleheads shortly after she had moved into her apartment. Around two weeks later they had helped her get a job at "Keizou Automotives", which was where the two cousins had been working for two years previous to Keelin's appearance.

Jotaro was the oldest at twenty-four years old, with a lean muscled body and young handsome features. He stood a good six foot tall and had dark brown eyes and hair, which was generally lightly shaved off at the sides, making his Mohawk stand out more. Haruo was twenty-two years old, with a body that perfectly matched his elder cousin, although he was slightly smaller in muscle mass. He also bore very handsome features, when he wasn't covered in grease that is. Haruo was also six foot tall, like his cousin although he had dirty blonde hair and dark brown eyes. Coincidentally or rather not, Haruo also shared the same hair style as his cousin, who by all right should have been born his brother.

"So what's on the agenda today? Did those Zokugaku guys drop their motorcycles off, like they arranged last Friday?" Keelin asked her two companions with a raised eyebrow, when she noticed that they were both scowling. Usually the two cousins were all "shits-and-giggles" and hardly ever serious.

"Yeah, they dropped them off." Jotaro ground out under his breath, before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. Keelin quirked both her eyebrows at this action, Jotaro only smoked when he was agitated about something, while Haruo rubbed his nose when he was agitated, which he was currently doing.

Keelin suddenly laughed out loud, knowing that the Zokugaku Chameleons' gang-leader, Habashira Rui had probably come instead of his, although vehemently denied girlfriend and team manager, Tsuyumine Megu. Keelin had always gotten along with the rough, no-nonsense Zokugaku woman, although she did have a few problems with Tsuyumine's "secret" boyfriend, although he wasn't quite as bad _after_ you dealt with him a few times. But as far as dealings went Keelin had always preferred to negotiate with Megu, as she was not as brash and less likely to lash out over small details, unlike Habashira.

"I can't stand those guys." Haruo muttered darkly, "I don't see how you can stand to be around them Keelin, especially that Habashira guy." The blonde haired man continued in his dark tone. Jotaro nodded his head in agreement, while taking a long drag from his now short cigarette.

"Aw now, they ain't that bad guys!" Keelin laughed, before unseating herself from the car hood and waving a "see-you-later" to the two cousins, before heading off to work on the Chameleons motorcycles. They would probably be back to pick them up on Wednesday, so she had a lot of work to do and not very much time to work with.

Four hours later Keelin closed up the shop and took off towards the direction of an eatery. She was starving by now and it was late, hopefully one of those diners would be open so she could order and leave. After all she smelled and looked like a grease monkey, but what did she care right now. Food was foremost and important, since she did not want to cook when she got home. She'd dump her cloths in the washer, get a well deserved and needed shower, before hopping into bed and that would end her day. As plain and boring as it sounded, that was her life or that was what it had became after she quite hanging out with Hiruma Yoichi, Kurita Ryokan, and Takekura "Musashi" Gen. Her life before she stopped hanging out with them was… hectic and eccentric, to say the least.

Soon, Keelin found an open restaurant and immediately she entered, seeing as how the sign said that they would be closing in thirty minutes. Lazily walking up to the counter, a middle aged woman took her swift order, which was: a large container of Cheddar Pasta Salad, a large lemon flavored tea and a slice of lemon crème cake. It was just enough to tide her over until lunch tomorrow. Keelin could never stomach breakfast for some strange reason, the last time she tried, she had thrown up everything that she had swallowed for two hours straight. After that she had avoided eating anything for at least three hours after she awoken.

After her order was placed on the counter and she paid the correct amount, she looked at the clock and saw that she still had a good twenty-six minutes left so she went and took a window seat near the door and began eating her meal. Keelin hadn't been sitting there for four minutes, before the soft chime of the doorbell, alerted everyone to the appearance of another customer. Suddenly the entire diner went deathly quite, with the slow, purposeful footfalls of the new customer ringing out like a series of gunshots.

'_Crap.' _Keelin silently cursed, she didn't need to look up to know who the customer was. Just by the deathly silence that had enveloped the restaurant, it was an easy enough guess as to who had walked in. Hell, Keelin didn't even need three guess, as the answer was only so obvious. Who was the only person, other than her who could instantly quiet and empty a room from pure fear alone? The one and only, Hiruma Yoichi of Deimon Private High School.

Steady footfalls made their way closer and closer to Keelin's booth and way before she was ready, the tall, lanky blonde haired teen from her past seated himself directly across from her, without asking. She mentally scowled at his rudeness and attempted to ignore the pixy-looking man that was now sitting in a lax position across from her. Several quiet minutes went by, between the two former associates, with the only sound being the occasional "pop" from yellow-green sugar free gum and the light "tink" from Keelin's tea can as she sat it back on the table. So far, she had successfully ignored his entire presence, but Keelin could tell that he was becoming irritated as the silent treatment went on, as the periodic "popping" of his gum increased, with each one becoming louder then the one before.

'_Just take the hint and go away!' _Keelin silently pleaded, hoping beyond all rational thought that he would just give up and leave her alone. But it was all in vain, as Hiruma Yoichi never gave up on anything, especially when there was something beneficial to him involved. Curse her horrid luck with _that_ man! They hadn't spoken to one another in almost two years, so what the hell could he possibly want from her now? Although she a small inkling suspicion as to why he was sitting in front of her now, she wasn't sure that she wanted anything to do with his plans anymore. She had new solid plans and they didn't involve him or Football any longer.

Keelin, now having eaten half of the Cheddar Pasta Salad in the plastic container, took a swift swig of her tea, successfully emptying it of its liquid content. Before snapping the lid back on the food container and standing from the booth, with her bought groceries for the night. Heaving her shoulder bag lazily over her right shoulder she turned to leave, but she never even got to take one step away from the booth before _his_ voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"I want you to join the Football Team, again." The words were spoken in a composed and almost requesting tone, yet Keelin could clearly hear the sharp warning that was hidden underneath. Slowly, she turned around and nailed the demonic pixy-looking male with a glare, which he gladly returned ten fold. With a defeated sigh Keelin's eyes un-narrowed and she sat back down, although rather regrettably. She decided that she could at least hear what he had to say, before she declined his offer.


	4. Chapter 4: The Offer & The Final Trick

Chapter Four:

An Offer From The "Devil" And The Final Trick

"So," Keelin spoke in a leisurely, cool tone, which clearly announced her unhappiness of her current situation, "let me get this straight. _You_ want _me_ to join the Deimon High American Football Team, so you can have a better chance at making it to the Christmas Bowl this year, which just so happens to be the last year you can be on the team and the last chance for you to actually make it to the Bowl, right?" She finished with a cocked eyebrow and narrowed eyes.

The spiky blonde male that sat across from her, just gave her a knowing glare; knowing full well that she was just trying to annoy him enough, so he would leave her alone. But unfortunately for her, his stubbornness outranked hers by a decent margin, although she was in no way a lightweight when it came to being stubborn and getting her way. He was just naturally much more bullheaded and devious than her.

"That's right, damn Yankee." Hiruma confirmed using Keelin's given nickname from him, much to her displeasure after taking a sip from his streaming cup of coffee. Keelin's nose wrinkled in disgust at the smell of the sugarless dark brown liquid, which she knew from experience was sugar and cream-less. Hiruma had always disliked sugary sweet things so it was no surprise that he drank straight black coffee.

Keelin nailed the blonde haired male with a dark look for using her unwanted nickname, before asking the aspirant Quarterback more important questions. Keelin couldn't help her curiosity, sure Hiruma had pretty much always wanted to go to the Christmas Bowl, but for him to come and ask her to join the new team was a serious matter. He must think that he has a really good team for him to come and bother her, or he was just desperate for some good players, "How many players do you have on your new team?"

"Counting you, that currently makes four." Hiruma responded in a leisurely tone, immediately dismissing the "what-the-hell" and the "are-you-freaking-kidding-me" looks that the American girl sent him. If Hiruma didn't think that the blonde American wasn't needed on his team, he wouldn't have been sitting in the diner arguing with the intolerant woman. But, he knew her strengths on a Football field, so he was determined to have her on his team, again; even if it meant using a backhanded bribe to do it.

"Three?" Keelin asked in clear disbelief. Did he really think that she would join a team of three? He had clearly lost his mind if he thought that, besides she hadn't even said that she would join, so he was getting way ahead of himself in assuming that she would be the fourth player, again.

"Did Musashi come back?" The blonde haired girl questioned, wondering if her old friend had finally decided that he wanted to play again, or if Hiruma had volunteered the short, brunette haired boy from the tram station to be the third member of his Football Team. Knowing Hiruma like she did, Keelin didn't need three guess to know who had recently joined the Deimon Devil Bats and it probably hadn't been of his own free will either.

"No, the Fucking Old Man hasn't come back yet. We have a potential Ace Running back now, Eyeshield 21. Then there's the fucking Fatty, me and now _you_." Hiruma stated, putting a strong emphasis on Keelin being the fourth member of his team.

"Well, it seems to me like you're missing several key players. You can't win any Football game with just _one_ Lineman, a Quarterback, a Running back and a Linebacker. It's just impossible, no matter how good they are. And even if you get more team members, they have to be decently good. Otherwise even with the four Aces you won't stand a snowball's chance in Hell of winning, especially since you lack a key member of the team, the Kicker." Keelin strongly emphasized on Hiruma's plan and its mistakes; hoping that he would just give up on her returning and find someone else. To Keelin, going back to playing Football meant that she would have to face everything that had happened and everything that she had once and still felt for the blonde demonic-pixy looking teen. But she should have realized a long time ago that there were some arguments that can never be won when you're dealing with Hiruma Yoichi.

Hiruma just scowled, knowing all too well that the blonde haired girl had a valid point, about his lack of players. The damn Yankee hadn't change a bit; she still managed to irk him to no end. But, she was a pretty damn decent Linebacker, with her Running back speed and Lineman-like tackles. But, a good thing about the damn Yankee was that she was flexible in football positions. She could easily slip into being an Offensive tackler as well. Her true strength however, lay in playing on Special Teams, where she was a perfect fit for the Gunner.

It was in those few short moments of brooding angry silence that Keelin noticed that something was off about the diner. It was quiet, too quiet; almost ominously silent. Taking a quick glance from her peripheral vision she saw that besides Hiruma, herself and the middle aged woman who had taken her order were the only occupants of the small eatery. Glancing down at her iPod she saw that the diner had officially closed almost twenty minutes ago. The graying brunette haired woman however, hadn't even attempted to tell them to leave, yet it didn't look like the woman was scared of Hiruma like most people were. Instead the woman acted like a pair arguing teenagers were a very common occurrence in her diner, and who knew maybe it was, Keelin mused to herself with a small smirk.

"Well, Hiruma as much as it pains me to say _goodbye_ so soon to an old "friend". I'm afraid that a hot shower and my full size bed are calling to me and I just can't drop their call, so later." Keelin waved halfheartedly at the Quarterback, before she stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder, before she walked over to the door and opened it.

She didn't walk out of the door immediately, instead she turned her head back to the elder woman behind the bar and said, "Thanks for not kicking us out Ma'am." Before she finally made her exit, the soft chime of the small door bell was the only sound left in her wake.

Minutes later the blonde Quarterback, leisurely followed after the enigmatic American girl, who had just casually brushed him off. His emerald green cat-like eyes were narrowed into small, angry slits, yet strangely enough the trigger-happy teen hadn't pulled out any firearms from his vast collection. To say that Hiruma was angry was an understatement; a better statement of the truth would be stating that he was pissed. But threats, even from he, the infamous "Devil" of Deimon High, Hiruma Yoichi, rolled off her like water off a ducks back.

That woman was completely insufferable! He couldn't threaten or use any of his dirty tricks on her like he did to everyone else. They would only serve to further annoy her and it would get him absolutely now where. There were only two choices that would work, now that his "ask her nicely" plan had failed. And he'd be damned if he begged her to join the team, so that only left one more, one final trick, the grand finale, it would either make or break his team. He would just have to play his cards very carefully with this plan; otherwise he'd never have another chance at getting her on his team.

With a stern set face, the blonde male who, not so subtly resembled a demon, leisurely made his way towards the American girl's home. Time was of no importance. If Hiruma knew the blonde haired girl and he did, then he knew exactly how long he had to play his hand. Besides, the female American rebel would probably be in the shower for almost an hour, give or take a few minutes for her to get dressed and that would give him enough time to get to her place and it would be enough time for her to calm down and think that he had just given up on her joining the team. Luring her into a false state of security was step number one and it was already in progress.


	5. Chapter 5: Next Morning & The Results

Chapter Five:

The Next Morning and The Final Trick's Results

As the morning's soft, golden-saffron light shown though parted curtains, it danced across a smooth, dark red Cherry wood floor, before slowly drifting over a large deep onyx and red colored rug, the red design was randomly-shaped to look like the heated blobs of wax from a Lava Lamp. As the sunlight slowly edged farther into the completely westernized bedroom, it finally came to rest in the farthest corner in the room, where a full size solid dark wood platform bed stood against the wall. The black, white and crimson colored bed sheets were already made up, with the extra pillows leaning casually against the off-white painted wall.

The room was mostly clean and uncluttered, with the exception of a couple pairs of shoes casually lying at the foot of the bed, and the tall black plastic cloths basket sitting right to the left of the shoes. The basket was full of recently washed and dried cloths; the pleasant smell of Apple Orchard washing detergent filled the air.

Upon further observation of the westernized room one would discover that there was a small, black glassed computer desk sitting just to the left of a small closet door, which was aligned along the back wall where the foot of the bed touched, in front of the computer desk there was a leather tall back chair with armrests. There was also a 3-Tier black glassed TV stand that stood against the wall mere inches from the doorway. The entertainment system was state of the art with surround sound, HD and cable.

Off to the slight left of the glass TV stand there was a black and grey colored gaming chair and right beside it was a black Dental-like stool that had a foot ring. Strangely enough there were three clocks in the room; one was nailed on the wall above the TV stand. It was a neon black and bright red guitar clock. The second one rested above the computer desk, it was a silver colored splat wall clock, the third and final clock sat at the head of the bed on a black wood nightstand, which held a black and red grey base Lava Lamp, an upright lamp with a crackle glass shade, and the silver AM/FM Radio clock. The neon red numbers read 6:55 AM.

There was also a tall wall bookshelf that was filled with books, DVDs, CDs and there was also a black and silver colored laptop that sat on the third shelf. It was a wonder how Keelin had ever gotten enough money to pay for everything that she owned, as most of it was top of the line. Her job at "Keizou Automotives" had surely helped, but the American teen used that pay check for paying bills and buying groceries. Where her extra "play" money came from was a mystery, yet no one was brave enough to ask her. The only person who would have known where the extra money came from, would be Hiruma Yoichi and no one wanted to ask him either, so the money issue was left alone.

The closer Keelin got to the school, the more indecisive she became. After last night, things were all slipshod. First Hiruma's out-of-the-blue confrontation with her at the diner, then just when she thought that she could get some sleep, the damn demonic blonde pixy had to show up at her house! And after that a good night's sleep was impossible, so after her left she had spent all night and a better part of the morning cleaning her house, every room and crevice in her whole house was now clean. All of the rooms had been straightened up and she'd even washed all of the dirty cloths and dishes, which was something she usually avoided it like it was a plague. But that was what conversations with Hiruma did to her; it screwed up her brainwaves. At least she wouldn't have to make time and clean her house anymore; it was already clean.

While Keelin had been in that almost OCD-like state last night, she had also been thinking about everything that Hiruma had said and done at their second meeting. Was she making the right decision, she wondered, her face was pulled into a thoughtful expression and her unusual blue eyes were dark with anxiety and concern. Her posture was stiff signifying that she was stressed and the more she rolled Hiruma's words around the more her head ached.

'_You can't just snap your fingers and stop being who you are.' _His sneering voice entered her mind. _'I know what you are. The fucking Old Man and the damn Fatty know it too. The only one who doesn't seems to be you.'_ His frosty voice snapped at her, there was a short pause before he spoke again, _'You're a Football player. Remember that you damn Yankee.'_

'_God!'_ She violently cursed in her mind. She didn't know what to do anymore. What was she supposed to do? Which was the right decision; yes or no? Would it be better to join the team, or to just ignore it all? She just didn't know, everything was just spiraling out of control. _'Damn you Hiruma! Damn you to the deepest, darkest and fieriest pits of Hell! And damn me for reacting this way and for once… loving… you.'_ For the first time in over a decade Keelin was nearly in tears. Keelin hated crying, just as much as she hated being alone and whoever her parents were.

Why? Why did her life have to be so damn complicated? All she wanted to do was graduate from High School, go to a good College, get a decent paying job and live her own life. And maybe one day find out who her parents were. Was such a simple life not good enough for her? All Keelin had gotten in life, she worked for. Nothing was given to her, not ever a surname. Her _parents_ hadn't even been kind enough to sign a damn last name on her birth certificate. How's that for _parental love_? At least, they'd been decent enough to give her a first name; that was the only thing that they had ever done for her.

Steeling herself and her erratic emotions, Keelin breathed in deeply and stood stock still for several moments. When her eyelid's finally opened, none of her previous emotions could be seen. Keelin was pretty good at hiding her emotions when she had to, but not always. With a deep sigh, Keelin pulled the strap of her bag higher onto her shoulder, before she continued on towards the school. She had finally made up her mind; how things would go after this she didn't know, but somehow it didn't feel like the wrong decision.

Keelin's classes went surprisingly uneventful that day and all of her Teachers nearly had heart attacks. The rebel teen showed up to all of her classes on time, she went the whole day without threatening anyone surprisingly and she didn't even listen to her iPod. Everyone she had classes with stared at her like she had three heads, but Keelin for once, just ignored their funny looks and near silent whispers. It was like the blonde teen girl had suddenly become a different person. Everyone was relieved, yet it made them scared of her even more. Keelin was as unpredictable as the weather.

When the Teacher released Keelin and the rest of the students from their last class of the day, the blonde haired girl was, of course the first to leave. The way she left the classroom was just like everyday before today. As Keelin continued her silent walk down the hallway, she suddenly had an intense urge to run. To run and just keep running, there wasn't any particular place that she wanted to go, she just wanted to run and feel the adrenaline rush that came with it. Maybe it was the silent treatment that she had been giving to the world all day, or maybe it was the foreboding feeling of being claustrophobic, that had caused her unexpected urge to run, she really didn't know.

Walking in a lazy cadence, as she normally did, had just suddenly became incredibly annoying, not to mention boring to her. It wasn't enough, it wasn't stimulating anymore. This lazy beat she had fallen into had finally worn itself out. It was time for something more upbeat, something that would get her adrenaline pumping. Something like what she had quit two years ago, something that she had always had a deep affinity for. Maybe, it was time to play with fire again.


	6. Chapter 6: Observations

Chapter Six:

Observations of Football Training

A sudden loud bang of a slamming door shot Keelin from her thoughts and piqued her interest enough for her to walk to the nearest window and see what was going on outside. Upon reaching the window the sight that met her eyes was humorous enough for Keelin's lips to quirk up into a small smile. Hiruma was being his insane, overly eccentric self as usual. Although this time, the demonic blonde-haired male had a victim. It was the speedy brunette haired pipsqueak, who was currently tied up and being drug by a rope, which was in the hands of the blonde running Quarterback. The kid was also screaming something about him just being a secretary. Hiruma of course, just ignored everything the kid was yelling, while successfully covering up most of the kid's words with his own shout of, "Morning practice!"

Apparently, the kid did not want to play Football and Keelin for one couldn't blame him. Being a Football player was a tough thing to do. Heck, back when she had been playing plenty of muscle-bound linemen had sacked her and you had better believe that it hurt. It hurt like hell to be quite frank. She had been injured so many times that the pain had eventually become easy enough to ignore during the game. Football wasn't a sport for the physically weak or the soft hearted. The kid looked like he fit both of those to a T, but he did have speed on his side, so he might make it on a Football team, if he started lifting weights and gained some decent muscle mass on his tiny lithe body.

Keelin watched as Hiruma ran, dragging the brunette haired kid with him towards the sandy training field, where a very familiar, large bodied teen was fiercely slamming all of his bodyweight against a sky blue tinted blocking dummy. Keelin visibly cringed each time the large teen slammed against the dummy. Two years off the field had certainly softened the tall American teen, if she was cringing from just watching what had been done to her so many times.

With an unidentifiable sigh, Keelin turned away from the window, just as the kind-hearted lineman turned towards the blonde haired Quarterback who had greeted his long time friend. Keelin was in no big hurry as she left the empty classroom and headed towards the rear exit of the school. It wasn't like the trigger-happy blonde Quarterback was going to deny her acceptance to the team, if she didn't show up for the first "team" practice on time. Hell, he probably already knew that she was going to come anyway. After all, he hadn't bothered her all last night for nothing.

Sooner than she wanted, Keelin stepped through the school doors and stood under the evening sun, taking a deep breath of fresh air. A soft, mild wind caused her blonde and onyx bangs to gently brush against her peach tinted skin. Glancing to her left Keelin saw that Hiruma and Kurita were talking, while the brunette haired boy was just standing beside the tall Quarterback observing the two elder teens. Poor kid, Keelin truly did feel sorry for him, but he would be a great asset to the team; a kid with Running back qualities like him, didn't come along everyday. In a way, the boy was almost a godsend for the Deimon Devil Bats and Hiruma was not about to let his last chance slip through his fingers. Keelin wouldn't have let the boy go either, if she was in the Quarterback's place.

Deciding that she didn't actually need to change into her Football uniform, Keelin just walked towards the three male teens in her usual lazy pace. On the outside, the seventeen-year-old perfected the calm and lazy look. Beneath her skin however, her heart was thundering against her chest, causing a slight pricking of pain to reach her ribs. Adrenaline, was already rushing wildly through her veins and she hadn't even done anything yet. Such a familiar feeling to the one she once felt everyday, but it wasn't as strong as it once was.

As Keelin made her silent approach to the stairs, she heard the two elder teens laugh about something. Not even a minute passed by when the sharp-eyed teen saw Hiruma's elfish like ears twitch, signaling that he had heard something, just seconds before the dummy that Kurita had been practicing with collapsed to the ground in a cloud of dust, broken. Apparently, the dummy couldn't handle that much abuse from the large and powerful lineman. Good thing it wasn't a human being that he had been practicing with.

Hiruma turned his head around to see what had caused the noise, with a perplexed look on his face. Upon seeing the broken dummy, which was now lying on the ground, the demonic-pixy looking male ran up to the broken equipment and with a loud exclamation of disbelief yelled, "Huh? You idiot! You totally wrecked it!"

The larger boy stuttered an apology, his large body shaking in fear at what he had done. Hoping that the trigger-happy Quarterback would not pull out any of his weapons and shoot at him for breaking the equipment, as the smaller teen examined the damage, which had just been inflicted upon the lifeless dummy. Keelin couldn't help but smile as the hilarious scene played out in front of her, the short brunette haired boy looking scared of the brute force that the large lineman possessed.

"Ah, screw it! Let's just get the principle to buy us a new one." The blonde Quarterback remarked moments later with a careless tone, his hands propped on his slender hips. Just as he finished his sentence, he threw his right leg forward and sent the broken training dummy flying, as if it hadn't weighed a thing. The brunette haired boys face looked even more terrified at the sight of the devil Quarterback's display of physical strength. Even if he didn't look it, Hiruma was strong, strong enough to knock the breath out of the watching teen girl, if he were able to match her speed and tackle her.

'_Yeah, that Hiruma is really batshit insane alright.' _The blonde haired girl smirked, as a soft snicker passed through her soft lips. Her unique colored eyes narrowed into small slits as she watched the Quarterback; however, behind the steel caged anger that flashed within her eyes, there was a faint flicker of softness, which belied her angry emotions towards the eccentric male.

She couldn't help it, her emotions were a jumbled mess when it came to the blonde Quarterback. Sometimes she hated and cursed his very existence, other times she held the utmost respect for him, and on rare occasions, she actually felt empathy for him. The man could easy enrage her to the point of violence and yet, sometimes he was the only one who could make her smile. It was confusing and Keelin wondered if she would ever understand just why her heart had to skip a beat for _him_ out of all the people on the planet.

The three males still hadn't yet noticed Keelin's presence, but she wasn't complaining as she was currently watching the curious brunette haired boy examine the training equipment with timid interest. The boy was so shy that it bordered on ridiculous. Keelin watched the boy with intelligent eyes as he bent down and studied the ladder, which was lying prone on the sandy ground. The boy picked up the ladder and looked it over with questioning eyes, wondering just what it was used for.

Keelin heard the brunette haired boy mutter questioningly, "Huh, a ladder?" Just before the kind-hearted giant of a boy walked over to the shorter boy's side and explained that the ladder was used for training Football players. The ladder drill was what it was known as. It was a very basic training method for Football players. This method is commonly used to increase the speed, stamina and agility of the players. It would be essential training for the position of the Running back, as he is the one who needs to be the most agile and swift. After a short demonstration of how he was supposed to do the ladder drill, the kid stood up and stepped into the squares, one foot in one square and the other in the one right beside it.

"Like this… in the boxes, right?" The boy asked as he started to step left to right, exactly how the chestnut headed boy showed him previously. For a newbie, the kid sure had some sharp skills, Keelin silently noted. The ladder drill was easy for the boy to do; it looked almost like he had been doing it for years. The kid was just blooming with natural talent. Keelin was slightly envious, but his kind of talent was rare, so there were no hard feelings. The kid had probably trained as much as she had to get to where he was now.


	7. Chapter 7: Taboo Jersey

Chapter Seven:

The Taboo Jersey

While the kid was practicing, Keelin had removed her sea-foam green jacket, school shoes and had laced up her sleek black cleats. They were the same ones she had worn two years previous and for some strange reason they fit just the same as they did back then. _'Hm, guess I haven't changed much in size since then.'_ She silently mused, before standing from her previous kneeling position and walking out onto the dirt field and heading towards the training brunette haired boy.

When she heard Kurita praise the boy for his skill, she decided to let them know that she was present, "Yeah, you're doing it right. But that pace is too slow for a Running back. You gotta be faster that that, kid."

Instantly after she had spoken, the kid froze in his tracks as if petrified, while Kurita's chestnut shaped head swiftly snapped in her direction, a look of clear disbelief plastered across his face when he spotted her. "Keelin-chan! You came back to play American Football with us again!" The large boy yelled with a wide smile now seeming to take up permanent residence on his face.

"Yo." Keelin responded back with a devil-like grin, while flashing a peace sign to the larger bodied boy. Kurita was currently bouncing up and down on his heels, much like a rubber ball in his excitement to see an old friend and ex-teammate come back. Keelin guessed that by his reaction, he had missed her company a lot and to be honest she had missed theirs as well. She just couldn't stand be around Hiruma after their falling out. Kurita was always with the demonic blonde-haired teen, so she had avoided them both. The only one she had vaguely kept in touch with was Musashi, but it was only after he had quit the team. She had not actually spoken to the ex-Kicker for a while; it was going on almost a whole month now since she had last had a conversation with him.

Hiruma just turned his head in her direction and gave her a once over with sharp narrowed eyes, before speaking, "You're not in uniform, damn Yankee." The blonde haired male pointed out in his usual rude and blunt manner.

"Didn't think I'd be needing it. After all, I don't need gear to shield me. I'm not delicate, unlike some scrawny Quarterback's I know." Keelin bit back with her eyes narrowed dangerously. Did it really mater if she wore the uniform or not? She was just as good out of the uniform as she was in it. There really was no point in her putting all of the gear on only to have the same results either way. It just seemed to be a mute point in her opinion that coupled with the fact that she didn't take orders well.

Hiruma's eyes narrowed at the direct challenge and insult. The nerve of that damn woman, she was always undermining his authority. Always questioning his orders before she did what he wanted and if the answers didn't suit her then she just didn't do anything at all. She was just so damn willful and independent. And of course, he knew that the damn Yankee wasn't a delicate. That much was as clear as glass. Just by looking at her, most intelligent people could see that she was not one to mess with. She had more guts than most men did and Hiruma knew, from first-hand experience that she loathed being referred to as fragile in any way. It irked her almost as much as her being underestimated just because she was female, playing a man's sport. Yet, it had never stopped him before, especially when she was already as riled up as much as she was now. In his own sadistic ways, he found it humorous and fun when she tried to out whit and banter with him. He won a good ninety-five percent of the time, but she always put up a hell of a fight, when she actually tried.

"Go put the fucking gear on." Hiruma ground out through clenched teeth. He really was trying to refrain from yelling and or shooting at the obstinate blonde haired female, for the sake of keeping her on his team. His narrowed eyes twitched, while his finger itched to squeeze the trigger of the ominously sleek machine gun that was carelessly propped against his shoulder. The damn Yankee really was trying to piss him off and it was working.

Seeing just how much she was angering the blonde Quarterback, Keelin decided to push her luck a little further, even though it might cost her a few flying bullets and a hellish time of training. Keelin's lips quirked up into a sly, devious smirk. When she opened her mouth and spoke her voice was heavily layered with faux innocence, "Say '_please,' _Yoichi-kun."

As soon as the words left her lips, Keelin took off running as fast as she possibly could. Seconds later, just as she had expected the bullets went flying towards her swiftly retreating from, but she had already grabbed her bag and ran up the stairs with a wide grin gracing her features, with a livid Quarterback yelling profanities and death threats behind her. Knowing the two elder teens like she did, Keelin didn't need to look back to know that Kurita was trying to restrain Hiruma from sending her to an early grave. Thank Kami-sama for Kurita-san's existence; otherwise she might not have lived so long.

Instead of running away from the school and the insane Quarterback, as any sane human being would and probably should. Keelin alternatively ran into the small grey Football Clubhouse to change into her gear and jersey. Once the all of the padding and wraps were securely fitted around her slender form, she dug through her football bag and pulled out her jersey.

Keelin had always wondered if Hiruma had lost his mind when he had chosen her jersey number or if he just really hated her or something to give her number that no one would even dare say. On the back of her jersey, in bold attention-grabbing lettering the number 49 was proudly displayed for all to see. It wouldn't have been that bad _if_ it wasn't a taboo number. The word forty-nine is bad luck in Japan, with the Japanese word for the number "four" being pronounced as "shi," and its synonym meaning "death." The word for "nine," is pronounced "ku," which means to "struggle" or "suffer." When Hiruma had first assigned that number to her jersey, Keelin had protested like no other, but his stubborn nature won over in the end and she got over it fairly quickly.

Less than ten minutes later Keelin stepped out of the building wearing the complete Deimon Devil Bat uniform and gear. When Hiruma fully assessed and was finally satisfied with Keelin's now gear and jersey-clad appearance, he began to speak.

"Well now, let's start with the usual stuff," while his hand sneakily reached over and grabbed the boy by the back of his jersey. Before the kid could even think about bolting, Hiruma was already dragging him down the field. The boy yelled out in protest, but as he usually did Hiruma completely ignored him continuing to speak, "After all, we've got a new recruit."

Silently and in no hurry, Keelin followed the devil's own to the other end of the field. She quietly observed her old teammate, mutely noting that some strange and very small part of her was happy that Hiruma had stayed the same batshit insane, overly eccentric, trigger happy, devils' incarnate that he had always been. While the other was livid, that even after two years of separation he still had the nerve to try to boss her around. They were like water and chlorine hypochlorite; when mixed and shaken they were an explosive and deadly combination.

Kurita quickly noticed the dark air that slowly started to surround the blue-eyed girl and decided that he would leave her alone to her thoughts. He had learned long ago that sometimes trying to console the American girl was just not an option. Keelin tended to react negatively and sometimes violently to consolation of any kind. Hugging was also an issue with Keelin; she didn't like too much contact with other human beings. Well, unless she was tackling them or causing bodily harm that is.

Kurita had always wondered if it was the lack of parental love, which had caused her to be so skittish and rough or if she was just naturally like that. Nevertheless, even though she was violent and rather prickly on the outside Kurita had seen her nice side. Keelin was not by any means feminine nor would she ever be, but she could be gentle on very rare occasions. She almost had an odd older sister-like vibe to her, when she was both rough and prickly and when she was nice and placid.

"No, hang on. My neck hurts a little." Kurita announced while cracking his neck, trying to get rid of the pinching ache. With a large smile spread across his face, he announced happily, "I think I'll call it a day after I do a 40."

"A 40-yard dash, huh?" Keelin heard the twisted Quarterback murmur, as he looked down at his stopwatch. "We haven't done that in a while…" His face held a thoughtful expression as he trailed off. Keelin assumed, with a very educated guess that he was probably remembering when the original team had first run the 40-yard dash. But, one would never truly know what went through his head.

'_I wonder if I can still run my original speed.'_ Keelin wondered quietly. Her original timing, back when she was playing all the time was pretty damn good, if she did say so herself. Back then, she was faster than Hiruma, but who knew what two years of laziness had done to her body. She knew that she had lost quite a bit of the muscle that she had gained from Football training and that caused a small scowl to cross her lips. Perhaps she shouldn't have quit training her body, when she quit the Football team. Hiruma would be uberly-pissed off if she was slower and weaker, which meant Keelin would get her ass chewed out while dodging bullets.

"Okay! Let's do some timing!" Hiruma yelled seconds later with a wide fanged smile, which in Keelin's opinion made him look like he belonged in a nut house, not High School. However, Keelin often wondered if being in the loony bin was any different than school. School made her nuts and the loony bin just made you even loonier, so what was the difference really; besides the fact that Deimon High had its very own residential demon.

"Show me the results from this morning's practice!" Hiruma yelled authoritatively, while dropping the timer into the brunette haired kid's hands. The boy bounced the timer around as if it were a stick of lit dynamite, while Hiruma called out to Kurita. Kurita was busy placing the neon orange cones in a line down the field. The heavyset boy argued that there was no way that he could have improved in such a short amount of time, and Keelin whole heartedly agreed with him on that.


	8. Chapter 8: Authors Note

Authors Note:

Hello readers,

Okay, so as much as it pains me to say this... I've decided to wholly rewrite this story due to not being satisfied with the quality and where the story is currently going. I've already started on redoing it, so if time is willing it won't be long before I have the first _new _chapter up. It will have the same title, and somewhat of the same plotline. Keelin won't be too different but I've decided to change a few things about her, the cousin's Jotaro and Haruo Izuho, will be returning, however, I've decided to change Haruo's name to 'Takeo'. I will be adding a couple new charcter's as well as I had been wanting to put them in the story line eariler but hadn't.

I'm terribly sorry for this inconvenience and the really, really long wait for an update on this story. I will try to update the newly written chapters as soon as I can.

Take care,

- SugarLandBabyGirl


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